2. AGENDA
1. Resume & Cover Letter
Activity
2. Partner up & get to work!
3. Action Items
3. Tutorial:
Resume and Cover
Letter Part 2
Networking Event: Mar
14th 6pm – 8pm in CPA
Hall. Attend your
assigned timeslot!
Resume and Cover Letter
Feedback Mar. 15th
@11:59pm
Lecture:
Mock Interview
Preparation
What’s due:
• Final Resume and
Cover Letter @ Mar. 22
11:59pm
• Interview Sign up @
Mar. 22 11:59pm
Tutorial (LAST ONE):
Interview Prep
What’s Due:
Have informational
interview time and
date confirmed
Course Timeline
WEEK 10 WEEK 11 WEEK 12
4. A Word of Caution
• We will be VERY strict when
marking Resumes and Cover
Letters
• Every
spelling/grammar/consistency
mistake counts
• More than 3 errors cumulatively
on both Resume and Cover
Letter = 40% off
6. Watch Out for These Errors
Spelling &
Grammar
Inconsistency
Incorrect order of
Information
Improper
Formatting
Incorrect
Information
Missing Information
9. Resume Formatting
• Titles formatted the same
• Spacing is consistent
• Margins are reasonable (≥1.5cm)
• Phrases either ALL end in period or not
• Dates
• Usually right-aligned
• All have month and year, or just year
• All months are abbreviated to same # of
letters
• Uses hyphens (–) OR dashes (-)
• Font:
• Smallest size is 10
• Generally no more than two types of font
• Numbers under 10 spelled out (i.e. two vs. 2)
• Bullets: same size/style, aligned
• One page
Ingrid Bakke
8600 fairy drive, Vanouver, B.C. V7A 2K1
778-555-0121
Ing.b.c@hotmail.com
linkedin.com/bakke
Font?
10. Header & General
HEADER
• Name is preferred name with (given name) in brackets
• Phone and email address are included
• LinkedIn URL is personalized
11. Header & General
GENERAL
• No personal pronouns (I, we, he,
she)
• Reasonable amount of white
space – is it easy to read?
• Experiences listed in reverse
chronological order by start date
• Spelling and grammar
Theo Guevara
8600 fairy drive, Vanouver, B.C. V7A 2K1
778 829 3422
theo.Guevara@email.com
linkedin.com/theoguevara
12. Header & General
GENERAL
• No personal pronouns (I, we, he,
she)
• Reasonable amount of white
space – is it easy to read?
• Experiences listed in reverse
chronological order by start date
• Spelling and grammar
Theo Guevara
8600 fairy drive, Vanouver, B.C. V7A 2K1
778 829 3422
theo.Guevara@email.com
linkedin.com/theoguevara
14. Optional: Key Competencies / Profile
• No more than 5 lines for key competencies (4 for profile)
• Can include languages
• Does it clearly and convincingly summarize strengths/experiences/skills?
• Does it match the job posting (multiple references)?
• Does it provide a clear, convincing link to the rest of the resume (i.e. is there PROOF
elsewhere in the document?)
• OPTIONAL** - depends on the industry you are applying to, include if need a way to fill up
your resume (i.e. Not enough experience but can’t have too much white space on resume)
Does not seem tailored
to any specific job
16. Education
• Bachelor of Commerce not BCOMM or B.Comm
• UBC Sauder School of Business not Sauder School of Business
• Start with the degree
• List expected date of completion (either as “Completion: …” or “Expected Completion: ...”)
• No laundry lists of courses: only specific, relevant courses (full course name written out)
• GPA – score/%/letter grade, indicating the school scale
• Key/relevant projects and awards: write in accomplishment statement form
Do not include high school education!
Scores? Extra projects?
Completion
Date:
18. • Reverse chronological order by start date
• Written in third person
• Eliminate filler words
• You can include explanation sentences of companies / experiences if necessary
• Keep it to one sentence (2 lines is best)
• Elements of RATS statements should be apparent (but not necessarily in RATS order)
• Are experiences achievement based?
• Do numbers clearly quantify achievements where appropriate?
• Do statements have Accomplishment, Proof, Transferrable skills, and Scope of Action?
• Are statements led with strong result verbs? Are the verbs being used varied across bullet
points?
• Does language indicate familiarity with industry/company? Does it match the job description?
Experience
19. Where’s the link?
What does this mean? Explain the
importance or how you achieved this
Inconsistent spacing
How?
Experience
21. Interests
• Do the interests show personality? Are they specific? Are they relevant to the job (not always
necessary)?
• Do they differentiate the candidate? Are they memorable?
• Be fun! And appropriate
*NOTE for the candidate: Be able to speak about these interests extensively!
Too long—laundry list of achievements
instead of actually showing personality
What is GO?
Spell out the numbers below 10
23. Cover Letter Formatting
• Left aligned (NOT justified)
• No indents on paragraphs
• 2-3 relevant skills + stories
highlighted
• Consistent font size (minimum size
10 and should match with resume
font size)
• Appropriate font
• Margin sizes
• Spacing between paragraphs
• Appropriate balance of content
and white space
• One page
**Headers of cover letter and
resume must match, it’s all about
branding**
Ingrid Bakke
8600 fairy drive, Vanouver, B.C. V7A 2K1
778 829 3422
theo.Guevara@email.com
linkedin.com/theoguevara
Theo Guevara
25. Addressing the Cover Letter
Date
Contact Name (if known)
Title
Company Name
Address 1
City, Province Postal Code
Re: Position Title (and reference
number if given)
Dear [First name Last name],
or Dear Hiring Manager/Committee,
or Dear Mr./Ms./Mx. Last Name,
[Opening Paragraph]
Last Name?
27. Signing Off
Sincerely, / Regards, / Best,
(Written signature if you want)
Your name
BCom Candidate 20XX
UBC Sauder School of Business
* Enclosed: physical copy
* Attached: electronic copy
Ingrid Bakke
Enclosed or Attached*: Resume
29. Opening
• How is the hook?
• Interest/passion for the position?
• Skills/experience matching the job posting?
• Is primary or secondary research integrated
• Name drop? (when applicable)
• Branding: CAN-WANT-FIT
Stronger Hook
STRONG WANT, BUT NO CAN OR FIT
31. Body Paragraphs
• Skills to match the position?
• STARL format?
• Are there examples – specific & concise?
• Transferrable skills?
• Do results show strengths or success?
• First paragraph: laundry list of experiences with
no real significance
• Second paragraph: laundry list of skills with no
explanation
• NO STAR STORIES
• NO DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EXPERIENCES
• NO RESULTS
33. Closing Paragraph
• Are skills reiterated?
• Is sincere interest expressed?
• Graciously thanks employer for consideration
• Call to action (aka request for a meeting)
• Tie back to hook/intro, wrap it up in a nice
bow
• Do not include your contact information – that
can already be found in the header
• Skills are not reiterated
• Wordy and not concise
• Tie back to opening?
35. Instructions
• Partner up or find a group of 3
• Have one person share their job posting and resume/cover
letter
• Provide feedback for 4-5 mins
• Switch around until everyone’s gone
I’ll be walking around to answer any questions
36. Action Items for Next Week
1. Final Resume and Cover Letter: Due March 22nd @
11:59pm on Canvas
2. Sign-up for Office Hours on Canvas!
3. Confirm informational interview date and time.
4. See you in lecture next week